Soap-holding appliance employing vacuum cups

ABSTRACT

A soap holder has a rigid body which is attachable to a vertical wall and which supports a cup-shaped member in which is a flexible pad. Flexible legs depend from the lid and are formed with integral suction cups. The cup-shaped member may be pivotally attached to the rigid body. The flexible legs may be hollow or solid. A space may be defined between the pad and cupshaped member into which the pad can flex when the legs and cups bend to conform to the curved surface of a piece of soap.

United States Patent [72] lnventor Anthony Sertich 346 East 29th St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11226 {21] Appl. No. 17,804 [22] Filed Mar. 9,1970 [45] Patented I Sept. 28,1971

[54] SOAP-HOLDllNG APPLIANCE EMPLOYING VACUUM CUPS 9 Claims, 16 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 248/309, 248/363 [51} Int. Cl A45d 40/00 [50] Field of Search 248/206, 309, 362, 363; 51/235; 294/64 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,825,177 3/1958 Nordlofet a1 248/206R 2,891,348 6/1959 Blagg 248/206 R X 3,071,886 1/1963 Stiller 248/206 R FOREIGN PATENTS 752,469 7/1956 Great Britain 294/65 Primary Examinerwilliam H. Schultz. Att0rney-Polachek & Saulsbury ABSTRACT: A soap holder has a rigid body which is attachable to a vertical wall and which supports a cup-shaped member in which is a flexible pad. Flexible legs depend from the lid and are formed with integral suction cups. The cupshaped member may be pivotally attached to the rigid body. The flexible legs may be hollow or solid. A space may be defined between the pad and cup-shaped member into which the pad can flex when the legs and cups bend to conform to the curved surface of a piece of soap.

PATENTEUSEPZBIHYI 3,608,853

sum 1 [1F 2 m INVENTOR SERTICH M ATTOR N! Y SOAP-HOLDING APPLIANCE EMPLOYING VACUUM CUPS This invention relates to the art of holding devices and in particular concerns an article that utilizes vacuum cups for the purposes of suspending a bar of soap with respect to a planar surface such as a wall.

Soap-holding devices employing vacuum cups heretofore known are shown and described in such US. Pat. Nos. as 3,071,886 and 3,101,567, also design patent 211,888. One difficulty encountered with the prior devices is that they employ two sets of vacuum cups on opposite sides, one set of cups attaching to a wall and the other set of cups engaging a piece of soap. The device itself is a rigid structure which extends out from a vertical wall in an axially horizontal position. This disposes the soap in a vertical position from which it slips off easily. Another difficulty is the awkward hand position required to remount the soap on to the vertical device. A further disadvantage is the unsightly appearance presented by the suction cups with or without the soap extending forwardly in a vertical plane. Another difficulty is the temporary attachment to the wall afforded by the set of suction cups, so that the device falls off when the suction is broken.

The present invention is directed at overcoming the above and other difficulties and disadvantages of prior soap-holding devices by providing an attractive soap holder which can be permanently mounted on a bathroom or kitchen wall. The device has a pad set into a holder which is disposed in an axially vertical position. Suction cups supported by legs which are axially longer than the cups extend vertically downward for engaging a piece of soap in a horizontal position. The holder has a swivel support so that the soap can be removed and replaced at any convenient angle. The legs supporting the suction cups are flexible and may be hollow to increase their flexibility to conform to soap pieces of different shape. This is an important feature because it has been found that prior vacuum holding devices for soap did not conform well to pieces of soap having a small radius of curvature.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken together with the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of two soap-holding devices embodying the invention, shown mounted on a vertical wall near a sink.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a reduced side view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a rear end view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged bottom plan view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a further enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, showing a suction cup and leg under compression while holding a piece of soap.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 6, showing another soap holder construction.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to a part of FIG. 2 showing a further soap holder construction.

FIG. 10 is a reduced bottom plan view taken on line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the soap holders shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a rear end view taken on line 12-12 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a vertical sectional view taken on line l3l3 of FIG. I 1.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary bottom plan view taken on line I4-14 of FIG. 13, with suction pad removed.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the suction pad per se.

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary elevational and sectional view of another form of the invention.

Referring first to FIGS. 17, there is shown a soap holder 20. The soap holder has a massive solid body 22 preferably formed of a plastic material. Body 22 may simulate a bird or other ornamental figure. Body 22 has a flat rear side 24 on which are adhesive strips 26 which permanently secure the body 22 to flat vertical wall 28. Body 22 has a forwardly extending substantially vertical post 30 provided with an axially horizontal bore 32. The bight of a C-ring 33 extends through bore 32 and has ends 35 pivotally engaged in an axially vertical knob 36 of a cup-shaped member 40. Member 40 has a cylindrical skirt 42 and interior circular wall 44. Set in the recess defined by skirt 42 and wall 44' is a resilient rubber pad 46. This pad is formed with a plurality of flexible tubular legs 48. The axial passages 49 in the legs are closed at bottoms of the legs and open at the top. Suction cups 52 are formed at bottom ends of legs 48. Normally all legs are axially vertical and the bottoms of all cups are disposed in the same horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 3. However, when a piece of soap 50 is pressed against the legs, the tubular legs deform or bend as clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 7 to conform to the curvature of the surface 51 of the soap. As the soap wears, the legs 48 will bend accordingly so that all suction cups will always be in inti mate contact with the soap to hold it securely as shown in FIGS. 1,2 and 3.

Holder 20 has a double swivel arrangement since the C-ring 33 can pivot or turn in bore 32 and the short ends 35 can pivot in knob 36. This enables the user to attach the soap in any convenient hand position, and the soap will then assume the normal horizontal position shown in FIGS. ll-3.

Holder 20A shown in FIG. 8 is identical to holder 20 except that legs 48a of resilient pad 46a are solid rather than tubular. Cup-shaped member 40a has a concave inner wall 44a. This permits pad 46a to flex into space S so that legs 48a and cups 52 always conform to the curvature of the piece of soap.

Holder 208 shown in FIGS. 9 and 1.0 is similar to holders 20 and 20A and corresponding parts are identically numbered. In holder 203 a sponge rubber pad 53 fills space S of the cupshaped member 40a to serve as a flexible backing for the pad as it flexes in response to different curvatures of soap 50. Pad 46a in both holders 20A and 208 has an additional central leg 48a and central cup 52a in addition to the circumferentially spaced six cups 52 and legs 48. FIGS. 1, 11-15 show another soap holder 20C which has a plastic body 70 and which is generally L-shaped in cross section. Wall 72 is vertical and has adhesive pads or strips 74 secured thereon to mount the holder on vertical wall 28. Horizontal section 75 of body is formed with axially vertical cup-shaped member 76 into which resilient pad 78 can be inserted. Space S is defined between pad 78 and the inside wall 79 of section 75. The pad 78 can flex into this space readily so that the :suction cups 52 and legs 48' conform to the curvature of the piece of soap 50a. The upper portion 81 of pad 78 is axially shorter than member 76 to provide space S inside member 76.

Holder 20D shown in FIG. 16 is similar to holder 20. Cupshaped member 40d has a flexible finger 33d integrally formed with knob 36a and pivotally engaged in bore 32 of post 30. Thus the cup-shaped member is pivotally held by body 22. This construction eliminates the C-ring 33, but the cup-shaped member is then pivotable only on the one horizontal axis of bore 32.

In all forms of the invention, the suction cups are located at the ends of long flexible legs which bend readily so that even small pieces of soap having a small radii of curvature can be securely held by the suction cups.

The appliances described are attractive in appearance. They will attach securely and permanently to bathroom and kitchen walls and will provide long, satisfactory service.

Although a limited number of embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, many modifications can be made without departing from the invention as defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A soap holder, comprising a rigid body having a flat vertical wall attachable to a flat vertical supporting surface; a cupshaped member carried by said body in an axially vertical position, said member being open at the bottom; a resilient pad disposed in said cup-shaped member in a horizontal position; a plurality of flexible cylindrical legs integral with said pad and extending downwardly in axially vertical position; and a plurality of suction cups integral with said legs at bottom ends thereof, said legs being axially longer than said cups to bend and conform to the curved surface of a piece of soap said cup-shaped member comprising a circular inner wall and a cylindrical axially vertical skirt, said pad fitting snugly inside said cylindrical skirt.

2. A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said legs are hollow tubular elements.

3. A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said circular inner wall is concave while said pad is flat to define a space therebetween into which said pad can fiex when the legs bend to conform to the curved surface of a piece of soap.

4. A soap holder as defined in claim 4, further comprising a spongy soft other pad in said space backing said pad.

5. A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said cupshaped member is pivotally carried by said body to pivot on a horizontal axis.

6 A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said body has a portion formed with a horizontal bore; and swivel means pivotally connecting said cup-shaped member to said bore so that the cup-shaped member pivots on the horizontal axis of said bore.

7. A soap holder as defined in claim 6, wherein said swivel means is a C-ring having its bight engaged in said bore with short ends engaged in a knob projecting upwardly from said cup-shaped member.

8. A soap holder as defined in claim 6, wherein said swivel means comprises a pair of fingers integral with said cupshaped member and having ends thereof engaged in said bore.

9. A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said body is generally L-shaped in cross section, said cup-shaped member being integrally formed with a horizontal portion of said body, said pad having a portion which is axially shorter than said cylindrical skirt to define a space between said pad and said circular inner wall into which space the pad can flex when the legs bend to conform to the curved surface of a piece of soap. 

1. A soap holder, comprising a rigid body having a flat vertical wall attachable to a flat vertical supporting surface; a cupshaped member carried by said body in an axially vertical position, said member being open at the bottom; a resilient pad disposed in said cup-shaped member in a horizontal position; a plurality of flexible cylindrical legs integral with said pad and extending downwardly in axially vertical position; and a plurality of suction cups integral with said legs at bottom ends thereof, said legs being axially longer than said cups to bend and conform to the curved surface of a piece of soap said cupshaped member comprising a circular inner wall and a cylindrical axially vertical skirt, said pad fitting snugly inside said cylindrical skirt.
 2. A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said legs are hollow tubular elements.
 3. A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said circular inner wall is concave while said pad is flat to define a space therebetween into which said pad can flex when the legs bend to conform to the curved surface of a piece of soap.
 4. A soap holder as defined in claim 4, further comprising a spongy soft other pad in said space backing said pad.
 5. A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said cup-shaped member is pivotally carried by said body to pivot on a horizontal axis.
 6. A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said body has a portion formed with a horizontal bore; and swivel means pivotally connecting said cup-shaped member to said bore so that the cup-shaped member pivots on the horizontal axis of said bore.
 7. A soap holder as defined in claim 6, wherein said swivel means is a C-ring having its bight engaged in said bore with short ends engaged in a knob projecting upwardly from said cup-shaped member.
 8. A soap holder as defined in claim 6, wherein said swivel means comprises a pair of fingers integral with said cup-shaped member and having ends thereof engaged in said bore.
 9. A soap holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said body is generally L-shaped in cross section, said cup-shaped member being integrally formed with a horizontal portion of said body, said pad having a portion which is axially shorter than said cylindrical skirt to define a space between said pad and said circular inner wall into which space the pad can flex when the legs bend to conform to the curved surface of a piece of soap. 